Psychological stress is a well-known risk factor for illness, but how exactly does it make us sick? A new study has provided some interesting insight.

Researchers help to explain how stress can make us sick. Researchers at Michigan State University in East Lansing have revealed how a protein known as corticotropin-releasing factor receptor subtype 1 (CRF1) responds to stress by sending signals to specific immune cells.

This causes immune cells to release chemical substances that can trigger a host of diseases, including asthma, lupus, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).